Nancy Kerrigan
Encyclopedia
Nancy Ann Kerrigan (born October 13, 1969) is a two-time American Olympic
figure skating
medalist and 1993 U.S. champion
.
to Daniel Kerrigan and Brenda M. (Schultz) Kerrigan. She began ice skating at age six at the local rink in her hometown of Stoneham, Massachusetts
. Her two older brothers, Michael and Mark, played hockey, but hockey was not considered an appropriate activity for girls at that time so she took up figure skating instead. She did not start private lessons until age eight, and won her first figure skating medal at age nine.
The Kerrigan family was of modest means. Kerrigan's father, a welder, sometimes worked three jobs to fund her skating career, and also drove the ice resurfacer
at the local rink in exchange for lessons.
Kerrigan was coached by Theresa Martin until she was 16, then after a brief period with Denise Morrissey began working with Evy and Mary Scotvold
. They remained her coaches through the rest of her competitive career.
Kerrigan began to reach prominence at the national level when she placed 4th at the junior level at the 1987 U. S. Figure Skating Championships. She made an early impression as a strong jumper but was comparatively weak in compulsory figures
. Kerrigan made her senior debut the following season, moving up the national rankings each year: 12th in 1988, 5th in 1989, and 4th in 1990. However, she continued to be held back by compulsory figures until they were eliminated from competitions after the 1990 season.
, where she won the bronze medal. Her achievement was considered especially astonishing in that it was part of the first-ever sweep of the women's podium by a single country at the World Championships, as her teammates Kristi Yamaguchi
and Tonya Harding
won gold and silver, respectively.
In the 1992 season, Kerrigan again improved on her placement at the previous year's national championships by placing 2nd. She received a bronze medal in the 1992 Winter Olympics
(Yamaguchi won the gold), and the silver medal at the 1992 World Championships.
The following season, with Yamaguchi retired from eligible competition, Kerrigan became United States Champion, although with a flawed performance she admitted she would have to improve upon for the World Championships. She won the short program at the World Championships in Prague
, but had a disastrous free skate that resulted in her tumbling to fifth in the standings. This was followed by an even worse performance at a televised pro-am event, where Kerrigan fell three times and botched the landing of another jump, and appeared dazed and depressed.
After the 1992 Olympics, she had received many corporate sponsorship contracts (with companies such as Seiko
, Reebok
, Campbell's Soup, and Evian
) as well as opportunities to perform professionally, which was permitted after the International Skating Union
abolished the earlier strict amateur status rules that had governed eligibility for the sport. In preparation for the 1994 Olympic season, she curtailed these activities in order to focus on her training instead. She also began working with a sports psychologist to better handle her nerves in competition.
with a collapsible police baton by Shane Stant at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships at Cobo Arena in Detroit, an assault planned by rival Tonya Harding
's ex-husband Jeff Gillooly and friend Shawn Eckardt.
Kerrigan was captured on camera after the attack grabbing her knee and wailing "Why, why, why". This video became a staple of nearly every news organization in the days after the attack. Although Kerrigan's injury forced her to withdraw from the U.S. Championships, her rivals agreed that she merited one of the two spots on the Olympic team. The USFSA chose to name her to the Olympic team rather than second-place finisher Michelle Kwan
.
Kerrigan recovered quickly from her knee injury and resumed her intensive training. She practiced by doing complete back-to-back double runthroughs of her programs, until she felt completely confident in her ability to compete under pressure. At the same time, the fame she had acquired from the attack led to further professional opportunities; it was reported that she had already signed contracts for $9.5 million before the Olympic competition began.
at the Hamar Olympic Amphitheatre
, finishing second to Oksana Baiul
. Kerrigan had won the short program, but lost the free skate to Baiul in a close and controversial 5–4 decision. CBS Television further played up the controversy by portraying it as a Cold War east/west split, particularly singling out German judge Jan Hoffmann
for supposedly biased judging.
Then, while Kerrigan and bronze medalist Chen Lu
waited over 20 minutes for Olympic officials to find a copy of the Ukrainian anthem, someone mistakenly told Kerrigan the delay in the presentation was because Baiul was putting on make-up. Kerrigan, showing obvious frustration, was caught on-camera saying "Oh, come on. So she's going to get out here and cry again. What's the difference?". CBS chose to air the undiplomatic comment, marking a distinct shift in the way Kerrigan was portrayed in the media, which had been somewhat protective of her image up to that point because of the attack against her.
Kerrigan then chose not to attend the closing ceremonies at the Olympics; her agent claimed this was because Norwegian security had advised her not to do so due to death threats that had been made against her, but this was later denied. Instead, Kerrigan left Norway to take part in a pre-arranged publicity parade
at Walt Disney World, her $2 million sponsor. During the parade, she was caught on microphone saying "This is dumb. I hate it. This is the most corniest thing I have ever done." She later said her remarks had been taken out of context: she was commenting not on being in the parade, but on having to wear her silver medal in the parade because showing off and bragging about her accomplishments was something her parents had always taught her not to do. She went on to say that she had nothing against Disney or Mickey Mouse
by responding, "Whoever could find fault with Mickey Mouse? He's the greatest mouse I've ever known."
News articles described Kerrigan as "grumpy" and "bitchy", as well as shy and uncomfortable with the attention that was focused on her as a result of the attack. Commenting on the media backlash, Mike Barnicle
of The Boston Globe
said "Now the thing is over so we've got to kill her. That's us [the media], not her." Whether as a result of the bad publicity or her own inclinations, some of Kerrigan's previously-announced endorsement and television deals were dropped following the Olympics.
. Along with Christian Lacroix
's designs for Surya Bonaly
in 1992, Wang's designs marked a new trend for couture designs in figure skating. Kerrigan's white 1992 free skating costume resembled a wedding dress with sheer illusion sleeves and a basketweave design on the bodice. For the 1994 games, Kerrigan wore another white dress by Wang, trimmed with black velvet bands and sheer black sleeves for the original program, and a champagne-colored dress set with 11,500 rhinestone
s for the free skate. Wang donated the latter two dresses to Kerrigan; their value was estimated at $9,600 and $13,000, respectively.
, but instead chose to focus her professional career on performing in a variety of ice show
s.
She has appeared in Champions on Ice
, Broadway on Ice
, and an ice show adaptation of the musical Footloose, among other productions.
She played a small part in the 2007 film Blades of Glory
with Will Ferrell
. Kerrigan also appeared in the 2006 FOX
television program Skating with Celebrities
.
She hosted Nancy Kerrigan's World of Skating on the Comcast Network
and has also done commentary work for other skating broadcasts. During the 2010 Winter Olympics
, Kerrigan served as a "special correspondent" for Entertainment Tonight
. She has written an instructional book on advanced figure skating technique, Artistry on Ice (ISBN 0-7360-3697-0).
In 2003, Kerrigan became a national spokeswoman for Fight for Sight (U.S.)
.
Kerrigan was inducted into the United States Figure Skating Hall of Fame
in 2004. She was honored at Ice Theatre of New York
's annual benefit gala in 2008.
to study business.
She created The Nancy Kerrigan Foundation to raise awareness and support for the vision impaired. Kerrigan's mother, Brenda, is legally blind.
Kerrigan married her agent, Jerry Solomon, on September 9, 1995. The marriage was her first and his third. In addition to his children from prior marriages, the couple have three children together, Matthew, Brian, and Nicole. Jerry Solomon also has a son from his second marriage.
Kerrigan's father died at age 70 on January 24, 2010, allegedly due to a violent struggle with her brother Mark. Mark Kerrigan was charged with manslaughter
in connection with the death. The family said her father died of a longstanding heart condition. Nancy Kerrigan called the allegation of homicide "unjustified" and said she would defend her brother. She and her mother appeared on a joint witness list to possibly testify at Mark Kerrigan's trial, which was due to begin on May 13, 2011. Following the court proceedings on May 19, 2011, Kerrigan was involved in a two-car accident in Wakefield, Massachusetts
. There were no injuries to either party. On May 25, 2011, Kerrigan's brother was acquitted of manslaughter but found guilty of assault and battery by a Middlesex County
jury. He was sentenced to 2½ years with six months suspended
.
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
figure skating
Figure skating
Figure skating is an Olympic sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform spins, jumps, footwork and other intricate and challenging moves on ice skates. Figure skaters compete at various levels from beginner up to the Olympic level , and at local, national, and international competitions...
medalist and 1993 U.S. champion
United States Figure Skating Championships
The United States Figure Skating Championships is figure skating competition held annually to crown the national champions of the United States. The competition is sanctioned by U.S. Figure Skating. In the U.S. skating community, the event is often referred to informally as "Nationals".Skaters...
.
Early life and skating career
Kerrigan was born in Woburn, MassachusettsWoburn, Massachusetts
Woburn is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA. The population was 38,120 at the 2010 census. Woburn is located north of Boston, Massachusetts, and just south of the intersection of I-93 and I-95.- History :...
to Daniel Kerrigan and Brenda M. (Schultz) Kerrigan. She began ice skating at age six at the local rink in her hometown of Stoneham, Massachusetts
Stoneham, Massachusetts
Stoneham is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts. Its population was 21,437 at the 2010 census, down from 22,219 in 2000. The town is the birthplace of Olympic figure skating medalist Nancy Kerrigan and is the home of the Stone Zoo.- History :...
. Her two older brothers, Michael and Mark, played hockey, but hockey was not considered an appropriate activity for girls at that time so she took up figure skating instead. She did not start private lessons until age eight, and won her first figure skating medal at age nine.
The Kerrigan family was of modest means. Kerrigan's father, a welder, sometimes worked three jobs to fund her skating career, and also drove the ice resurfacer
Ice resurfacer
An ice resurfacer is a truck-like vehicle or smaller device used to clean and smooth the surface of an ice rink. The first ice resurfacer was developed by Frank J. Zamboni in 1949 in the city of Paramount, California...
at the local rink in exchange for lessons.
Kerrigan was coached by Theresa Martin until she was 16, then after a brief period with Denise Morrissey began working with Evy and Mary Scotvold
Mary Scotvold
Mary Batdorf Scotvold is an American figure skating coach, best known for her work with Olympic medalists Paul Wylie and Nancy Kerrigan, whom she co-coached with her husband, Evy Scotvold....
. They remained her coaches through the rest of her competitive career.
Kerrigan began to reach prominence at the national level when she placed 4th at the junior level at the 1987 U. S. Figure Skating Championships. She made an early impression as a strong jumper but was comparatively weak in compulsory figures
Compulsory figures
Compulsory figures or school figures were formerly an aspect of the sport of figure skating, from which the sport derives its name. Carving specific patterns or figures into the ice was the original focus of the sport. The patterns of compulsory figures all derive from the basic figure eight...
. Kerrigan made her senior debut the following season, moving up the national rankings each year: 12th in 1988, 5th in 1989, and 4th in 1990. However, she continued to be held back by compulsory figures until they were eliminated from competitions after the 1990 season.
1991–1993 competitions
Kerrigan's rise at the national level continued when she placed 3rd at the 1991 U.S. Figure Skating Championships. She qualified for the 1991 World Figure Skating ChampionshipsWorld Figure Skating Championships
The World Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union in which elite figure skaters compete for the title of World Champion...
, where she won the bronze medal. Her achievement was considered especially astonishing in that it was part of the first-ever sweep of the women's podium by a single country at the World Championships, as her teammates Kristi Yamaguchi
Kristi Yamaguchi
Kristine Tsuya "Kristi" Yamaguchi-Hedican is an American figure skater. She is the 1992 Olympic Champion in ladies' singles. Yamaguchi also won two World Figure Skating Championships in 1991 and 1992 and a U.S. Figure Skating Championships in 1992. She won one junior world title in 1988 and two...
and Tonya Harding
Tonya Harding
Tonya Maxine Harding is an American figure skating champion. In 1991 she won the U.S. Figure Skating Championships and placed second in the World Championships. She was the second woman, and the first American woman, to complete a triple axel jump in competition...
won gold and silver, respectively.
In the 1992 season, Kerrigan again improved on her placement at the previous year's national championships by placing 2nd. She received a bronze medal in the 1992 Winter Olympics
1992 Winter Olympics
The 1992 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVI Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event celebrated from 8 to 23 February 1992 in Albertville, France. They were the last Winter Olympics to be held the same year as the Summer Olympics, and the first where the Winter Paralympics...
(Yamaguchi won the gold), and the silver medal at the 1992 World Championships.
The following season, with Yamaguchi retired from eligible competition, Kerrigan became United States Champion, although with a flawed performance she admitted she would have to improve upon for the World Championships. She won the short program at the World Championships in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, but had a disastrous free skate that resulted in her tumbling to fifth in the standings. This was followed by an even worse performance at a televised pro-am event, where Kerrigan fell three times and botched the landing of another jump, and appeared dazed and depressed.
After the 1992 Olympics, she had received many corporate sponsorship contracts (with companies such as Seiko
Seiko
, more commonly known simply as Seiko , is a Japanese watch company.-History and ongoing developments:The company was founded in 1881, when Kintarō Hattori opened a watch and jewelry shop called in the Ginza area of Tokyo, Japan. Eleven years later, in 1892, he began to produce clocks under the...
, Reebok
Reebok
Reebok International Limited, a subsidiary of the German sportswear company Adidas since 2005, is a producer of Athletic shoes, apparel, and accessories. The name comes from the Afrikaans spelling of rhebok, a type of African antelope or gazelle...
, Campbell's Soup, and Evian
Evian
Evian is a French brand of mineral water coming from several sources near Évian-les-Bains, on the south shore of Lake Geneva.Today, Evian is owned by Danone Group, a French multinational company...
) as well as opportunities to perform professionally, which was permitted after the International Skating Union
International Skating Union
The International Skating Union is the international governing body for competitive ice skating disciplines, including figure skating, synchronized skating, speed skating, and short track speed skating. It was founded in Scheveningen, Netherlands in 1892, making it one of the oldest international...
abolished the earlier strict amateur status rules that had governed eligibility for the sport. In preparation for the 1994 Olympic season, she curtailed these activities in order to focus on her training instead. She also began working with a sports psychologist to better handle her nerves in competition.
January 1994 attack
Kerrigan gained considerable fame beyond the skating world when, on January 6, 1994, she was clubbed in the right kneeKnee
The knee joint joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two articulations: one between the fibula and tibia, and one between the femur and patella. It is the largest joint in the human body and is very complicated. The knee is a mobile trocho-ginglymus , which permits flexion and extension as...
with a collapsible police baton by Shane Stant at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships at Cobo Arena in Detroit, an assault planned by rival Tonya Harding
Tonya Harding
Tonya Maxine Harding is an American figure skating champion. In 1991 she won the U.S. Figure Skating Championships and placed second in the World Championships. She was the second woman, and the first American woman, to complete a triple axel jump in competition...
's ex-husband Jeff Gillooly and friend Shawn Eckardt.
Kerrigan was captured on camera after the attack grabbing her knee and wailing "Why, why, why". This video became a staple of nearly every news organization in the days after the attack. Although Kerrigan's injury forced her to withdraw from the U.S. Championships, her rivals agreed that she merited one of the two spots on the Olympic team. The USFSA chose to name her to the Olympic team rather than second-place finisher Michelle Kwan
Michelle Kwan
Michelle Wingshan Kwan is an American figure skater. She is a two-time Olympic medalist, a five-time World champion and a nine-time U.S...
.
Kerrigan recovered quickly from her knee injury and resumed her intensive training. She practiced by doing complete back-to-back double runthroughs of her programs, until she felt completely confident in her ability to compete under pressure. At the same time, the fame she had acquired from the attack led to further professional opportunities; it was reported that she had already signed contracts for $9.5 million before the Olympic competition began.
1994 Winter Olympics and post-event controversy
Seven weeks after the attack, Kerrigan skated what she considered to be the best two performances of her life and won the silver medal in the 1994 Lillehammer Winter Olympics1994 Winter Olympics
The 1994 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event celebrated from 12 to 27 February 1994 in and around Lillehammer, Norway. Lillehammer failed to win the bid for the 1992 event. Lillehammer was awarded the games in 1988, after having beat...
at the Hamar Olympic Amphitheatre
Hamar OL-Amfi
Hamar OL-Amfi , also called Nordlyshallen , is an indoor sports arena in Hamar, Norway, mostly used for ice hockey. It was built in 1992 for the 1994 Winter Olympics, and housed figure skating and short track speed skating.It's normal capacity seats 6,091 people, and is the largest wooden made...
, finishing second to Oksana Baiul
Oksana Baiul
Oksana Serhiyivna Baiul is a Ukrainian professional figure skater. She is the 1994 Olympic Champion in Ladies' Singles and 1993 World Champion.-Early and personal life:...
. Kerrigan had won the short program, but lost the free skate to Baiul in a close and controversial 5–4 decision. CBS Television further played up the controversy by portraying it as a Cold War east/west split, particularly singling out German judge Jan Hoffmann
Jan Hoffmann
Jan Hoffmann is a German figure skater who represented East Germany in competition. A four-time Olympian, he is the 1980 Olympic silver medalist, the 1974 & 1980 World Champion, and a four-time European Champion.He was one of a handful of figure skaters who rotated clockwise, landing on his left...
for supposedly biased judging.
Then, while Kerrigan and bronze medalist Chen Lu
Chen Lu
Chen Lu is a Chinese figure skater. She is the 1994 and 1998 Olympic bronze medalist and the 1995 World Champion. Chen won the first ever Olympic medal in figure skating for China.- Amateur career :...
waited over 20 minutes for Olympic officials to find a copy of the Ukrainian anthem, someone mistakenly told Kerrigan the delay in the presentation was because Baiul was putting on make-up. Kerrigan, showing obvious frustration, was caught on-camera saying "Oh, come on. So she's going to get out here and cry again. What's the difference?". CBS chose to air the undiplomatic comment, marking a distinct shift in the way Kerrigan was portrayed in the media, which had been somewhat protective of her image up to that point because of the attack against her.
Kerrigan then chose not to attend the closing ceremonies at the Olympics; her agent claimed this was because Norwegian security had advised her not to do so due to death threats that had been made against her, but this was later denied. Instead, Kerrigan left Norway to take part in a pre-arranged publicity parade
Parade
A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually celebrations of some kind...
at Walt Disney World, her $2 million sponsor. During the parade, she was caught on microphone saying "This is dumb. I hate it. This is the most corniest thing I have ever done." She later said her remarks had been taken out of context: she was commenting not on being in the parade, but on having to wear her silver medal in the parade because showing off and bragging about her accomplishments was something her parents had always taught her not to do. She went on to say that she had nothing against Disney or Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse is a cartoon character created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks at The Walt Disney Studio. Mickey is an anthropomorphic black mouse and typically wears red shorts, large yellow shoes, and white gloves...
by responding, "Whoever could find fault with Mickey Mouse? He's the greatest mouse I've ever known."
News articles described Kerrigan as "grumpy" and "bitchy", as well as shy and uncomfortable with the attention that was focused on her as a result of the attack. Commenting on the media backlash, Mike Barnicle
Mike Barnicle
Michael "Mike" Barnicle is an award-winning American print and broadcast journalist as well as a social and political commentator. He is a frequent contributor and occasional guest host on MSNBC's Morning Joe and Hardball with Chris Matthews and is frequently seen on NBC's Today Show with...
of The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
said "Now the thing is over so we've got to kill her. That's us [the media], not her." Whether as a result of the bad publicity or her own inclinations, some of Kerrigan's previously-announced endorsement and television deals were dropped following the Olympics.
Kerrigan's Olympic skating fashions
Nancy Kerrigan's Olympic skating outfits were designed by noted fashion designer Vera WangVera Wang
Vera Ellen Wang is a Chinese American fashion designer based in New York City and former figure skater. She is known for her wide clientele of couture bridesmaid gowns and wedding gown collections.-Personal life:...
. Along with Christian Lacroix
Christian Lacroix
Christian Marie Marc Lacroix is a French fashion designer. The name may also refer to the company he founded.-Early life:Lacroix was born in Arles, Bouches-du-Rhône in southern France. At a young age he began sketching historical costumes and fashions. Lacroix graduated from high school in 1969...
's designs for Surya Bonaly
Surya Bonaly
Surya Bonaly is a French professional figure skater. She is a three-time World Championship silver medalist, a five-time European Champion, the 1991 World Junior Champion and a nine-time French National Champion.-Career:...
in 1992, Wang's designs marked a new trend for couture designs in figure skating. Kerrigan's white 1992 free skating costume resembled a wedding dress with sheer illusion sleeves and a basketweave design on the bodice. For the 1994 games, Kerrigan wore another white dress by Wang, trimmed with black velvet bands and sheer black sleeves for the original program, and a champagne-colored dress set with 11,500 rhinestone
Rhinestone
A rhinestone or paste or diamante is a diamond simulant made from rock crystal, glass or acrylic.Originally, rhinestones were rock crystals gathered from the river Rhine. The availability was greatly increased around 1775 when the Alsatian jeweller Georg Friedrich Strass had the idea to imitate...
s for the free skate. Wang donated the latter two dresses to Kerrigan; their value was estimated at $9,600 and $13,000, respectively.
Post-Olympic skating career
Kerrigan retired from active competition after the Olympics. She subsequently appeared in a few professional competitions such as Ice WarsIce Wars
Ice Wars is an annual elite figure skating team competition. The first Ice Wars took place in 1994. The competition format is "Team World" vs. "Team USA" or "Team North America". The 2005 competition was one exception, with the format changed to a "Battle of the Sexes" format, Men vs. Ladies...
, but instead chose to focus her professional career on performing in a variety of ice show
Ice show
An ice show refers to an entertainment production which is primarily performed by ice skaters. Such shows may primarily be skating exhibitions, or may be musical and/or dramatic in nature, using skating as a medium in order to accompany a musical work or to present a story. The term ice show...
s.
She has appeared in Champions on Ice
Champions on Ice
Champions on Ice was a touring ice show in the United States. The show featured a large cast of both professional and Olympic-eligible figure skaters along with novelty acts such as skating acrobats. The shows were focused primarily on solo performances by the skaters rather than ensemble work or...
, Broadway on Ice
Broadway on Ice
Broadway On Ice is a long-running ice show produced by Willy Bietak Productions. Dating back to the early 1980s, in recent years the show has been presented in theatrical venues in resort areas such as Las Vegas and Branson, Missouri with a rotating cast of skating and musical guest stars, rather...
, and an ice show adaptation of the musical Footloose, among other productions.
She played a small part in the 2007 film Blades of Glory
Blades of Glory
Blades of Glory is a 2007 American comedy film directed by Josh Gordon and Will Speck, and starring Will Ferrell and Jon Heder. The movie was released on March 29, 2007 by DreamWorks and MTV Films...
with Will Ferrell
Will Ferrell
John William "Will" Ferrell is an American comedian, impressionist, actor, and writer. Ferrell first established himself in the late 1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, and has subsequently starred in the comedy films Old School, Elf, Anchorman, Talladega...
. Kerrigan also appeared in the 2006 FOX
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
television program Skating with Celebrities
Skating with Celebrities
Skating with Celebrities is a celebrity reality television show that began airing on the Fox network on January 18, 2006. The show also aired in Australia on Network Ten in early 2006 and in New Zealand in October 2008. The show was the U.S. version of Dancing on Ice, which also aired in the U.K....
.
She hosted Nancy Kerrigan's World of Skating on the Comcast Network
Comcast Network
Comcast Network is a cable television station that is shown mostly in parts of Comcast Cable services in the Eastern part of the US. Viewed in four states and 20 television markets from New Jersey to Virginia on Comcast cable systems. The main focus of the network is Philadelphia although they...
and has also done commentary work for other skating broadcasts. During the 2010 Winter Olympics
2010 Winter Olympics
The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially the XXI Olympic Winter Games or the 21st Winter Olympics, were a major international multi-sport event held from February 12–28, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with some events held in the suburbs of Richmond, West Vancouver and the University...
, Kerrigan served as a "special correspondent" for Entertainment Tonight
Entertainment Tonight
Entertainment Tonight is a daily tabloid television entertainment television news show that is syndicated by CBS Television Distribution throughout the United States, Canada and in many countries around the world. Linda Bell Blue is currently the program's executive producer...
. She has written an instructional book on advanced figure skating technique, Artistry on Ice (ISBN 0-7360-3697-0).
In 2003, Kerrigan became a national spokeswoman for Fight for Sight (U.S.)
Fight for Sight (U.S.)
Fight for Sight is a nonprofit organization in the United States which funds medical research in vision and ophthalmology. It was formed in 1946 as the National Council to Combat Blindness , the first non-profit in the United States to fund vision research; 2011 marked its 65th anniversary.Based in...
.
Kerrigan was inducted into the United States Figure Skating Hall of Fame
United States Figure Skating Hall of Fame
The United States Figure Skating Hall of Fame serves as a repository for the sport of figure skating. The United States Figure Skating Hall of Fame is where the greatest names in the history of the sport are honored. To be inducted into the Hall of Fame is considered the highest achievement an...
in 2004. She was honored at Ice Theatre of New York
Ice Theatre of New York
The Ice Theatre of New York is a professional figure skating group that performs modern dance choreography on ice. It was founded in 1984 by Moira North, and is currently based at the Chelsea Piers rink complex in New York City. David Liu was appointed Co-Artistic Director for the 2007-2008 season...
's annual benefit gala in 2008.
Personal life
Kerrigan graduated from Stoneham High School and attended Emmanuel College in BostonBoston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
to study business.
She created The Nancy Kerrigan Foundation to raise awareness and support for the vision impaired. Kerrigan's mother, Brenda, is legally blind.
Kerrigan married her agent, Jerry Solomon, on September 9, 1995. The marriage was her first and his third. In addition to his children from prior marriages, the couple have three children together, Matthew, Brian, and Nicole. Jerry Solomon also has a son from his second marriage.
Kerrigan's father died at age 70 on January 24, 2010, allegedly due to a violent struggle with her brother Mark. Mark Kerrigan was charged with manslaughter
Manslaughter
Manslaughter is a legal term for the killing of a human being, in a manner considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is said to have first been made by the Ancient Athenian lawmaker Dracon in the 7th century BC.The law generally differentiates...
in connection with the death. The family said her father died of a longstanding heart condition. Nancy Kerrigan called the allegation of homicide "unjustified" and said she would defend her brother. She and her mother appeared on a joint witness list to possibly testify at Mark Kerrigan's trial, which was due to begin on May 13, 2011. Following the court proceedings on May 19, 2011, Kerrigan was involved in a two-car accident in Wakefield, Massachusetts
Wakefield, Massachusetts
-History:-Geography:The diagram above shows what is to the east, west, north, south, and other directions of the center of Wakefield. Towns with population above 25,000 are in bold italics.-Demographics:-Notable residents:...
. There were no injuries to either party. On May 25, 2011, Kerrigan's brother was acquitted of manslaughter but found guilty of assault and battery by a Middlesex County
Middlesex County, Massachusetts
-National protected areas:* Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge* Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge* Longfellow National Historic Site* Lowell National Historical Park* Minute Man National Historical Park* Oxbow National Wildlife Refuge...
jury. He was sentenced to 2½ years with six months suspended
Suspended sentence
A suspended sentence is a legal term for a judge's delaying of a defendant's serving of a sentence after they have been found guilty, in order to allow the defendant to perform a period of probation...
.
Results
| Event | 1985–86 | 1986–87 | 1987–88 | 1988–89 | 1989–90 | 1990–91 | 1991–92 | 1992–93 | 1993–94 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winter Olympics Winter Olympic Games The Winter Olympic Games is a sporting event, which occurs every four years. The first celebration of the Winter Olympics was held in Chamonix, France, in 1924. The original sports were alpine and cross-country skiing, figure skating, ice hockey, Nordic combined, ski jumping and speed skating... |
3rd | 2nd | |||||||
| World Championships World Figure Skating Championships The World Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union in which elite figure skaters compete for the title of World Champion... |
3rd | 2nd | 5th | ||||||
| U.S. Championships United States Figure Skating Championships The United States Figure Skating Championships is figure skating competition held annually to crown the national champions of the United States. The competition is sanctioned by U.S. Figure Skating. In the U.S. skating community, the event is often referred to informally as "Nationals".Skaters... |
11th J. | 4th J. | 12th | 5th | 4th | 3rd | 2nd | 1st | |
| Skate America Skate America Skate America is an international, senior-level figure skating competition held as part of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series. It is organized by the United States Figure Skating Association. The location changes yearly... |
5th | 2nd | |||||||
| Trophée Lalique Trophée Eric Bompard The Trophée Eric Bompard is an international, senior-level figure skating competition held as part of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series. The Trophée Eric Bompard was formerly known as the Trophée Lalique... |
3rd | ||||||||
| NHK Trophy NHK Trophy The NHK Trophy is an international, senior-level figure skating competition held as part of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series. Figure skaters compete in the disciplines of ladies' singles, men's singles, pair skating, and ice dancing.... |
5th | ||||||||
| Nations Cup Bofrost Cup on Ice The Bofrost Cup on Ice was a figure skating competition held in Germany between 1986 and 2004. It was part of the Grand Prix series until 2003, when it was replaced by Cup of China. Following being booted out of the Grand Prix series, a new form of competition was introduced to the Bofrost Cup... |
1st | ||||||||
| Piruetten | 1st | ||||||||
| Goodwill Games Goodwill Games The Goodwill Games was an international sports competition, created by Ted Turner in reaction to the political troubles surrounding the Olympic Games of the 1980s... |
5th | ||||||||
| Novarat Trophy | 1st |
External links
- Nancy Kerrigan Updates
- Washington Post article on the clubbing
- sptimes.com Harding, Kerrigan are linked forever by skating incident
- The Top 10 Boston Sports Stories
- People Magazine article 1994 entitled "Poisoned Ice"